Worth Lying For
by WeasleyForMe
Summary: George gets caught up in a lie, but the results are blissful. Hermione and George.


_Worth Lying For by WeasleyForMe_

_George gets caught up in a lie, but the results are blissful. Hermione and George._

_Please read and review!_

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"I don't think it's a very good idea. There must be a better way. She's not stupid, after all," Fred told his twin.

"Fred, you know how I feel, and it's the only thing that I think will work," George responded with a shrug.

"Well in that case, I wish you luck. Oh, and I hope your acting skills are up to par," Fred added with a smirk.

"Please, Fred… you know of my capabilities. Have you ever seen anyone else convince Madam Pomfrey that they were entirely too ill to take any midterm exams?" George asked with an eyebrow raised. "I rest my case."

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George was lurking around the common room one evening, waiting for Hermione to return. She had just walked in and set her books down to begin her homework when he plastered a concerned look on his face and headed toward her table.

Just as Hermione saw him approach, she realized it was too late to smooth down her skirt and make sure that her hair wasn't too frizzy. She wasn't sure why, but it was important to her that George think highly of her.

"Uh, hey George," she said.

"Hermione! Just the girl I was looking for," he said as he took a seat across from her. His tall frame looked adorable folded into the chair, and his hair was its usual charming mess. He made Hermione very excited and nervous.

"Oh, why were you looking for me, George?" she asked him.

"Well, it seems that I need some help with McGonagall's class. It's, uh, really giving me some problems this year," George told her. It was more difficult to lie to her than he thought it would be. "I know you are taking an advanced section this year, and I also know you are an excellent student. Is there any way you could take it upon your lovely self to help an idiot like me pass this class?"

Hermione nearly snorted, "George, you are far from an idiot. I always thought you and Fred earned top marks in most classes. Don't some of your Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products deal with advanced Transfiguration?"

"Um, yes they do," George said, scrambling for a sufficient answer. "But you see that is mainly Fred's department. I'm much better with the potions aspects. So what do you say? You'll tutor me, right?" he finished with a charming grin.

Hermione giggled as she told him, "Sure, I'll help you. We can start tomorrow if you'd like."

"Excellent! Thanks, you are the best, Hermione," George told her with a grin.

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George burst into his dorm room beaming from ear to ear. Fred and Lee looked up from their game of chess as George said, "It's a lovely night, isn't it guys?"

"I take it she said yes?" asked Fred.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Lee as he took Fred's bishop.

"I'm talking about spending hours on end with Hermione Granger," replied George as he fell onto his bed with a contented sigh.

"Hermione Granger? You have a thing for Hermione Granger? Won't Ron kill you?" asked Lee.

"Apparently not," supplied Fred. "She turned him down last year, and now he's apparently _in love_ with some Ravenclaw chit."

"Well, how exactly are you going to manage to spend hours on end with her?" Lee asked. He was very curious now.

"She's going to tutor me in Transfiguration," said George dreamily.

"Are you kidding me?" Lee asked again. "George, have you forgotten that Transfiguration is your best subject?"

"No, I remember that. Hermione doesn't know that though. Have you never heard of acting, Lee?" asked George with mock concern. "Plus, I can fake being bad at Transfiguration."

"Man, she's going to catch on in about five minutes. She's not stupid, you know," Lee said as he shook his head. "Good luck anyway, I guess."

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"What do you want to start with, George?" Hermione asked the next day after class. She and George were starting their tutoring that evening in their common room.

"Well, we have a practical exam coming up, and we need to be able to vanish a toad and then bring it back," George told her. Hermione was very impressed that George was so concerned about his school work.

"First, let's try the spell with my textbook and work from there," Hermione said as she positioned the book between them. "Just repeat after me, and make sure you get the wand motion just right."

George barely registered what she said, because he was too busy watching her flip her hair over her shoulder. What was it about this witch that was so fascinating to him? She wasn't technically as pretty as some other girls at Hogwarts were, and she was smarter than almost all of the other students. But George thought she was beautiful, and he was not intimidated by her intelligence.

"Earth to George? Hello? Would you care to repeat after me?" she was asking him while waving a hand in front of his face.

"Oh! Right!" he said as his attention returned to her voice. He performed both the spell to vanish the book and the one to bring it back without error.

"Great job! I swear you don't need any help with this, George. You seem to be a natural," Hermione told him. "Let's just try it again to be sure."

George hadn't meant to make the spell work that well. On the second time around, he remembered to leave a few pages of the book lying on the table between them.

"See, Hermione? I really do need lots of help from you," George managed to say with some concern.

They had been practicing a few vanishing spells for nearly an hour when Hermione said, "I don't want to keep you away from your friends for too long. We can stop here for today if you'd like."

"Are you saying, Hermione, that you and I are not friends? I was under the impression that I was spending time with a friend right now," George replied with a mock hurt tone.

Hermione smiled as she said, "Yes, I suppose we are friends. "

"Well, friend to friend, will you tell me why you ditched Ron last year?" George asked.

"Oh, wow. Well, he's a very good _friend_, but I want someone with a little more substance, I suppose. It's kind of complicated, but mostly… Ron is immature," Hermione admitted.

"Obviously," said George. "I mean, he's not good for much except Quidditch stats and the Hogwarts dinner schedule. He's my own brother and I can admit that much."

Hermione laughed. She was already beginning to feel comfortable with George. She was also curious though.

"George, why did you break up with that girl from Hufflepuff last summer?" Hermione asked. She started to blush at her forwardness. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. It's kind of personal. I just wondered, because she was so pretty and all."

"That's an easy question," George told her. "She turned out to be superficial and not very smart. A bloke can only take so much talk about makeup and gossip before he needs to get out."

_"If that's the case,"_ thought Hermione, _"We would be perfect together."_

But instead of sharing that thought, Hermione made an excuse to quit for the day, promising that they would study more on Friday afternoon.

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Come Friday morning, George was in very high spirits. He was looking forward to more time spent with Hermione. Fred and Lee had been taunting him endlessly about how cute they had looked studying together earlier that week. The only thing was, George felt a little bad about lying to her. He was very good at Transfiguration; maybe even as good as she was. It would be nice to just spend time talking with her instead of studying things they both already knew how to do.

George was on his way from Quidditch practice when he decided it was more important to spend time with Hermione now and be one hundred percent honest later. There was really no other way he would ever get to be alone with her. So he'd just have to pretend to be another mindless student.

"There you are, Hermione," said George as he took a seat across from her in the common room. "I brought something for you. Just a little thank you."

George handed her a small box that said Weasley's Wizard Wheezes on it. She opened it and saw that it was filled with chocolates.

"George, I love chocolate, and all, but I'm not stupid. I don't want to spend the day as a canary or with some health issue," she responded carefully.

George started to crack up. "No, these haven't been magically treated! They are just plain old delicious candies."

"Oh! Well, thanks!" Hermione managed with an embarrassed smile.

"By the way, my practical exam went really well, thanks to you. I vanished the toad and brought nearly all of him back," George said with a satisfied smile.

"What part didn't you bring back?" Hermione asked as she bit into a piece of candy.

"Just a wart, but I don't think McGonagall noticed," George replied.

"Good work; you'll be earning top marks in to time. What do you want to work on today?" asked Hermione.

"I need to get better at changing parts of my face. We learned how to change hair color and style, but I was terrible at it in class," George lied to her.

"Well, go ahead and start with my hair. Just try to change the color or something," Hermione told him.

George "tried" to do the spell, but nothing happened to her hair.

"Here, I'll try it on your hair, and you can repeat my want movements," Hermione said as she changed George's ginger hair purple.

They spent most of the afternoon changing their hair and eyebrows all the while making each other crack up. At one particular point, when Hermione had a pink beehive filled with flowers, George said, "Oy, Hermione, you look adorable!" He hadn't actually meant to say that, it just sort of came out.

Hermione blushed and replied, "You don't look so bad yourself with a blue Mohawk! I'm pretty sure you've mastered these spells now. Do me a favor and change me back?"

George smiled a devious smile. "I won't change you back until you agree to blow off studying for the rest of the afternoon and just hang out with me."

Hermione looked a little uneasy, and George figured he just blew his chance to spend even more time with her.

"I don't know….a whole afternoon? I always do homework on Friday afternoons," Hermione said with a slight frown. But then she thought to herself,_"Wait, George Weasley wants to hang out with me?"_

"Yeah, I guess I could do that," she answered with a smile.

"Great!" George replied with a smile as he changed their hairstyles back to normal. He took her hand and started to drag her out of the portrait hole with him.

"Whoa! Where are we going?" Hermione asked as she dug her heels in the ground.

"Just go with it Hermione. I promise we'll have fun!"

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Once Hermione gave in to George's plan and finally relaxed, she found she really was having a wonderful time. George took her into the Hogwarts kitchens and Dobby gave her a lovely tour of the facility.

"How do you know where the entrance to the kitchens is located?" Hermione asked in amazement as they were leaving.

"You know how us Weasleys are…always hungry. Actually, Bill found out where the entrance was and told us when we started at Hogwarts. He really is wonderful sibling," George answered, grinning.

Hermione found herself smiling almost nonstop. "So, what are we doing now?"

"Follow me," George answered as he smiled back. Hermione's smile was absolutely contagious for him. As long as she was happy, he would be able to take her to the ends of the earth. _"Bollocks! I'm turning into a love-sick puppy!"_ George thought to himself.

He and Hermione walked around the lake where they spotted the giant squid and talked about nothing in particular. She led him over to a giant boulder a short distance from the lake.

"It must be the Slytherin's night to practice Quidditch," Hermione pointed over to the pitch. "Honestly, I think Lee is entirely too kind to them when he commentates the matches. If _I_ ever had the chance, I'd be sure to point out all of their deceitful plays," she said with a nod of her head.

"Right you are," George returned. "If we were all honest, the commentary would sound something more like this…."

George cleared his throat and glanced over at the Slytherins as they practiced, and he began to comment on their plays.

"And there goes Warrington, chasing the quaffle around…too bad he's too dense to actually catch it," George mimicked a commentator's voice. "And here come Crabbe and Goyle, but, oh! They hit _each other_ with the bludgers instead of protecting their chasers!"

Hermione was laughing herself silly as George continued. "Ladies and gentlemen, as we see today, size does not equal talent, especially in the case of Montague. It doesn't equal brains either, as we once again see Crabbe scratch his head in confusion about what to do next! And here's a real treat for you, Draco Malfoy, the one and only platinum prat! There he goes, chasing the snitch, but oh! He's been hit with Goyle's bat! And we'll call that the match! Good night ladies and gentlemen!"

Hermione was laughing and gasping for breath. Her laughter sounded so sweet to George.

"Perhaps you should become a commentator! That was perfect!" she said between laughs. "Honestly, Crabbe and Goyle are awful! They don't compare to you and Fred at all!"

"Why thank you Hermione! Fred and I are awfully good, aren't we?" George asked as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh yes, and you're both very modest, as well," she said as she rolled her eyes.

He chuckled and enjoyed her smile. "Hey, the sun is setting. Let's go to the astronomy tower for a better view," George said, once again taking her by the hand. Her small hand felt perfect in his larger one, and he had to concentrate on not letting it get sweaty.

They didn't talk much as they walked up to the top of the tower, hand in hand. They didn't say much else as they watched the sun set behind the Forbidden Forest. It wasn't until the first stars appeared and it began to get chilly that George leaned down and said, "Thanks again for helping me out, Hermione. It really means a lot to me. And thanks for spending the day with me."

Hermione could feel his warm breath on her ear, and she immediately got chills up her spine. She was sure she was beet red, and very happy that the darkness hid that from him. She also realized he'd never let go of her hand.

With a pounding heart, she turned to him and whispered, "I don't mind helping you at all. Thanks for the lovely afternoon."

Hermione's heart stopped as George moved a little closer. She was ninety nine percent sure he was going to kiss her.

"_Kiss me, kiss me, KISS me! Ahh! George is going to KISS me!_" her mind screamed at her.

Just as George was reaching to touch her face, the door to the tower opened and covered them in light. Hermione immediately jumped back from George. They both turned with wide eyes and guilty expressions to see Harry and Ginny emerge from the doorway.

"Oh!" exclaimed Harry. "We didn't think anyone was up here!"

Ginny narrowed her eyes at George and Hermione, but didn't say anything.

"I was, um, just leaving actually. Good night George," Hermione quickly said as she walked away from him. She didn't see the hurt look in his eyes.

"Night Harry, Night Ginny," and with that Hermione was running back to the Gryffindor common room.

Ginny was just staring at her brother. "Harry, would you please excuse us. I'd like to speak to George alone."

Harry nodded and went back down the stairs.

"George! Just what do you think you're doing up here with Hermione?" hissed Ginny.

"Well, I was about to bloody well snog her until you and your boyfriend showed up. I thought that much was obvious enough!" George exclaimed.

"I had no idea you even liked her! Hermione is my very close friend, and I demand to know what your intentions are!" Ginny said very seriously as she closed in for the kill.

"I could say the same for you regarding Harry. You're way too young to be dating as it is, Gin!" he replied.

"You already know his intentions, so stop avoiding the question. What are _your_ intentions George," she repeated.

"My intentions, Ginny, are perfectly pure. Well, maybe not exactly. I _am_ lying to Hermione so I can have her help with my Transfiguration class," he said sadly.

"You have almost perfect marks in Transfiguration, George. You usually help me with my homework. I don't get it," Ginny shook her head.

"Come on, Gin. Do I have to spell it out?" he asked. "Fine…I'm crazy about her, and I'm using it as an excuse to spend time with her. I'm absolutely enthralled by the Gryffindor know-it-all! I think she's adorable, and actually, I damn well fancy her! Happy?"

Ginny's frown turned into a smile, "Yes, happy. As long as you intend to treat her properly, I think it's lovely. Now, will you please leave and send Harry back up on your way down? His intentions are quite honorable as well."

George just rolled his eyes and shook his head as he went back to the common room.

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When he got there, she was sitting on a settee by the fire. He went to sit by her as he said, "I'm sorry about the interruption. Ginny is _quite_ annoying at times."

"Oh, it's fine, really," Hermione mumbled as she got up. "I should get to bed soon, anyway. If you want to, we can practice Transfiguration on Monday after classes, so you'll be ready for your exam."

"That sounds fine to me," he returned with a frown as she started to leave.

"Wait," he said as he took her hand. "Good night, Hermione."

And with that he lightly kissed her cheek as she smiled and walked to her dorm room.

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For the rest of the weekend, Hermione and George both separately pondered the meaning of their astronomy tower meeting from Friday. Whenever they ran into each other, it was actually slightly awkward. Hermione wasn't sure if George liked her, but she certainly liked him. She was hoping there would be more excuses to spend time with him after tutoring ended. George was beginning to feel truly terrible about lying to her. He needed to tell her the truth, but he was too afraid to offend her at this point.

Oddly enough, Ginny also began to drop hints to Hermione. She was saying things like, "Wear that red shirt; it's George's favorite color" and "George is very fond of intelligent girls." This only served to confuse Hermione further.

By Monday, she was still confused but really looking forward to studying with George. While Hermione was about to leave her Advanced Transfiguration class with the other students, Professor McGonagall called her to the front of the room.

"Miss Granger, I believe you have a break now until your classes after lunch?" the Transfiguration teacher asked as Hermione nodded. "I was hoping you would stay after class and organize my shelves in the back corner while my next class comes in. You're always such a big help, and I greatly appreciate it."

"Of course, professor," Hermione answered as she carried her things to the far corner away from the desks.

Hermione began to reorganize the texts alphabetically and by topic, as the next class came in. She tried to stay very quiet, so she would not distract anyone from Professor McGonagall's lecture. Not that anyone would really notice her in the back corner.

In the midst of the arriving students, Hermione easily picked out George's voice and turned to see him enter the room. He was walking in and talking animatedly with Angelina Johnson about some Quidditch plays. He looked so endearing to Hermione with his crooked tie and tousled hair. Plus, this would be a perfect opportunity to watch him perform spells for their teacher and take notes on ways to help him improve.

After McGonagall took roll, she asked the class, "Who would like to demonstrate a transfiguration of one of their arms into their partner's arm?"

Nobody volunteered, so she called on George, saying, "Mr. Weasley if you please. You should have no problem with this, as you are one of the top students in this section. Please, transfigure your left arm into Miss Johnson's arm."

Hermione was slightly confused. There was no way George would be able to do this. She almost felt badly for him. And what was Professor McGonagall talking about? George was a top student? Not that he was terrible, but Hermione didn't think he was tops. But surely enough, George stood up, said the spell and his arm turned into the much more feminine arm of Angelina. Hermione's jaw dropped open. This was _very_ advanced Transfiguration. Hermione's eyes narrowed as George changed his arm back, and the class applauded him.

"Excellent, Mr. Weasley. Five points to Gryffindor, for a wonderful display of advanced wand-work. Now, everyone please follow the assignment on the board."

Hermione had no idea how George was able to pull that off, but she had the feeling that he had been lying to her. It was impossible to falsify your skills at Transfiguration. Hermione inched closer to his desk as Professor McGonagall whispered to him.

"Mr. Weasley, I wanted to ask you if you'd be interested in tutoring some younger students. There are not too many students in this school as talented at Transfiguration as you are," McGonagall whispered as Hermione's eyes narrowed further. She inched closer still, with her fists clenched.

George smiled and nodded as the professor continued. "In fact, the only other student who is quite as talented as you is Miss Granger over there," she said as she pointed to Hermione who was much closer to them than expected.

George's smile immediately dropped from his face. A positively _seething_ Hermione turned back, grabbed her things and walked past George saying, "You _lied_ to me."

"Hermione, I can explain everything," George quickly responded, receiving strange looks from his teacher and his classmates.

"Save it for someone who cares," she said as she stalked out the door.

"I need to be excused, right now. Please," told a puzzled Professor McGonagall as he rushed out of the room after Hermione.

He rushed down the corridor after Hermione. She began to walk faster until she was running. She didn't know where to go, all she knew was she had to get away from George. He had actually lied to her. She thought she knew him better than that, but this must just be some sort of prank, or so she thought.

"Hermione! Please, wait!" he called after her, but she was already rushing up the stairs to the astronomy tower. She ran all the way to the top where they had been on Friday. She knew he was following her, but she was too angry to go anywhere else.

"Hermione, please listen to me. I didn't want to lie to you, but I didn't know what else to do," George began as he tried to catch his breath.

"No, George, you are the one who needs to listen," she told him. "I'm not some stupid little girl that you can just play with as you see fit. You_lied_ to me, and I want to know the reason for this prank!"

"Prank? No, no, it's nothing like that. Please, just listen to me," he began, but she cut him off again.

"I can't believe you pretended to be a poor student, so I'd waste my time helping you out! I actually liked spending time with you!" she shouted. "I guess you are just as immature as Ronald! Now just tell me the meaning of all of this!"

"I like you!" George yelled back.

"What are you talking about?" asked Hermione as she was becoming more annoyed by the moment. "If you liked me or respected me at all, you wouldn't have made up some stupid story about needing help with school!"

"Hermione, that's why I made it up. I like you…a lot. And, I wanted to get to spend some time with you, but I didn't know any other way to make that happen," he pleaded with her. "And that's the truth."

Hermione merely looked at him. She looked at him, but said nothing. George was beginning to sweat. Hermione looked like she could have strangled him.

Then she finally spoke. "You could have just said something, you know?"

George sighed. "What was I supposed to say? 'Hey, Hermione, want to sit on a boulder and make jokes with me?' You would have laughed."

"I would not have laughed. Besides, if you just told me you liked me, it would have actually been much more romantic," she said with a small smile.

George took a step closer to her and tilted his head. "Maybe I'm not very good at romance."

Hermione took one of his hands in her small one and said, "You were doing a pretty good job of it last time we were up here."

"I guess I have my moments," he said as he brushed her hair out of her face.

"Want to try it again?" she whispered as his hand brushed down her neck.

The only answer she got was his fingers tangling in her hair and his lips upon hers.

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_Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. _


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